The first step, according to Burke, is to do the basic science necessary
to electronically control and move molecules.

"We need to determine how best to harness the electric fields generated
by microfabricated electrodes and carbon nanotubes in order to manipulate
and build matter one molecule at a time," he explains. They'll use a form
of electric tweezers that work in a similar fashion as optical tweezers
to move the molecules.

If the two scientists are successful, the result could be a transistor
as small as one nanometera significant improvement over the current
size of 100 nanometers. A nano-transistor like this would be a boon to
industry, improving the memory and processing power of modern computers
by at least a factor of 10,000.

Burke says that more researchers are experimenting with bottom-up methods
in an attempt to overcome the limitations of top-down techniques like
lithography.

"By building from the bottom up, scientists will ultimately repudiate
Moore's law by more than doubling the processing power of computers in
a span of time of less than 18 months," notes Burke.